TROY, N.Y – The 10
th-ranked Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) baseball team collected 31 hits in a Liberty League doubleheader sweep of Union College at Joe Bruno Stadium Sunday afternoon. Led by a seven-RBI performance including a grand slam in game two by sophomore
Camden Mamigonian (Dover, N.H.), the Red Hawks, who won by scores of 20-5 and 15-2, improve to 25-4 overall and 14-2 in Liberty League play. The Dutchmen, who were paced by
Dane Flavin's (Schenectady, N.Y.) first career home run in the opening game, drop to 3-18 and 1-16 in conference action.
The Red Hawks took a three-run lead in the first frame of game one on one hit and an error before Union got one back in the second on a
Shawn Johnston (Hamilton, N.J.) sacrifice fly to center.
RPI edged ahead in the next inning with a pair of runs after Patrick Reardon led off with a walk and Mamigonian was hit by a pitch. Andrew Krushelnyski plated Reardon when he reached on a fielder's choice before Stevan Slushar got one more across with a single through the right side.
The Red Hawks got three more aboard in the top of the fourth on three hits, starting with a sacrifice fly from Dan Valentine. Reardon collected an RBI single, one of three RBI hits in the game for the designated hitter, and Mamigonian capped it with an RBI double to left.
Flavin's home run plated
Paul Mene (Falls Church, Va.) in the bottom of the inning before Johnston came across on a
Scott Carroll (Scituate, Mass.) groundout. Johnston had reached on a walk and advanced on a wild pitch and a
Ryan Bowes (Hamilton, N.J.) fly out to right.
RPI broke the game open in the sixth inning with seven runs on four hits, including two-run doubles from Reardon and Krushelnyski. Shane Griffin and Dan Feenan also had hits in the inning.
Ken Carroll allowed four runs (two earned) on three hits while striking out two to improve to 5-0 on the season and Andrew Mondo picked up his second save of the season with one run allowed on one hit in the final three innings.
Matt Rogers (Topsfield, Mass.) took the loss for the Dutchmen, allowing six runs (four earned) on two hits in three innings.
The second game started out much like the first, with RPI holding a 3-1 lead after the first inning of play on a pair of hits and an error. The Dutchmen got their run back when leadoff batter
Brian McLaughlin (Norwood, N.J.) crossed on a wild pitch after singling and advancing on a Carroll single and an
Omar Shakir (Indialantic, Fla.) sacrifice bunt.
After adding a run in the second frame, the Red Hawks backed up started John Dreimiller, who struck out nine Union batters while holding the Dutchmen to six hits over six innings, with 13 hits of their own over the remainder of the game.
Matt Muscatiello crossed in the fourth before Valentine's two-run home run gave RPI a 7-1 lead.
The Dutchmen got one back in the bottom of the fifth on a
Pat Wilson (Cos Cob, Conn.) triple that bounced off the centerfield fence and plated Carroll, but the sixth inning again proved to be the deciding factor in the game when the Red Hawks collected eight runs on six hits in the stanza, led by Mamigonian's grand slam.
Dreimiller earned his first win of the season (1-1) with his performance, while b took the loss for Union, allowing seven runs (six earned) on eight hits in the first four innings. Brown (1-2) struck out three, all in the fourth inning.
Union plays a non-conference game at SUNYIT on Tuesday before traveling to SUNY New Paltz Saturday for a non-conference doubleheader.
